An amusing video I came across on the tube. I have my opinion on the behavior, but what do you think? Would you be uncomfortable if your dog growled at you like this?
That's a very good dog, he's giving kisses to the human who is growling at him. It's sweet to see him look so puzzled when the guy is "guarding" the blankey, but he really is being a good boy to play along. It looks like playing to me. To add, the dog is being super respectful even when he's being teased.
I agree with lindsayt -- it looks like the shikoku clearly understands that the human is playing with him and is being respectful and giving kisses. I didn't think that it sounded like growling either.
imo, this looks a lot like how I play with London at times. As said above, the dog looks a little confused/concerned, but he's being very good in his reactions and if I were in this position, I wouldn't be uncomfortable with how my dog was vocalizing.
Clearly the dog is being very careful and watching very intently at the expression of the human for a signal of change etc. It seems the growl grumble followed by yip is more of frustration it seems. I don't think the dog really appreciates the human face in his to be honest. It also looks like the dog is rather confused by the human behavior in some respect as well.
IMHO it's kinda dumb to prove your point about how great a dog is by doing this and particularly stupid to play keep away at face level. If one has a friendly but hard mouthed dog with drive, an accident will eventually happen, even in the lowest degree it's gonna hurt if you get pinched in the face. I certainly would not mimic this "play" style and would not welcome guests doing that either.
A really beautiful dog though with great control. Maybe the human needs bite inhibition training and alternative focus work instead. : )
haha... If I didn't own Ahi my opinion might be a bit different, but I agree with the others that it's just "Shikoku Talk". Ahi has talked to us like that since she was 10 weeks old.
However, I also agree with Patrice, it's not really the smartest way to prove a point, and I'm not sure the dog is really getting the human's point.
LMAO @ "Maybe the human needs bite inhibition training and alternative focus work instead."
@StaticNFuzz - too funny! I also agree that the human needs some training. I wouldn't do that with my dogs, although I think that they would be good natured like the dog in the video.
Conker is really noisy when he plays. I'm never in his face like that, I'm always standing or on my knees though. I can pop up if I have to since he HAS gone after my face in a game before. But Conker knows when I'm playing and when I'm not, and he makes all sorts of hellish growls while he plays with me.
Yoshi is much more vocal than Kimi; though both of them have varying degrees of vocalization, growling, and snarls, depending on the situation and potential provocation. I do not mind the grumbling or growls at all; so long as they happen in context. For instance; both of our Shikoku have a separate subvocal they use when the kids pet them while leaning over in a precarious fashion. If the children sit or stand in a stable manner, the dogs are quiet; indicating to me they are stating 'Hey, careful you little Monster, happy hound resting here'.
Yoshi talks much more when we play; but never tries to 'correct' my behaviour, should I take a toy, or temporarily hide away a particularily noisy one...he defers. Interesting to note though; with my wife and the kids he keeps quiet, so he may realize the grumbles make certain people nervous, and he behaves accordingly.
I'm not sure I agree with the 'in your face' method of interaction demonstrated by the video; but it is clear the Shikoku knows who the 'person' is, and clarifies this with a kiss...after giving the appropriate 'correction'.
While I only have experience playing with my Shibas, Bella growls when we play tug. Granted, my face is never in hers while we are playing. I do agree that it is just 'talk' and they are just playing. However, the dog does look a little perplexed and if the game continued, with the man's face so close, a nip could have occurred out of frustration.
LOL. He looks kinda confused and slightly uncomfortable with the human's behavior it seems.
I play like that with Shoushuu but he is totally use to it and goes out full on with the mouthing, barks and body slamming. It's fun. I've been trying to get my Shikoku to growl but they won't. I use to play crazy with Lynx too but she gets way to into it and while she is using a "soft mouth" she still packs in a hard punch, I'll end up with red marks on my arms so I have to keep her "in check" with any rough-housing. She throws barks at me too but I also can't get her to growl.
Comments
Clearly the dog is being very careful and watching very intently at the expression of the human for a signal of change etc. It seems the growl grumble followed by yip is more of frustration it seems. I don't think the dog really appreciates the human face in his to be honest. It also looks like the dog is rather confused by the human behavior in some respect as well.
IMHO it's kinda dumb to prove your point about how great a dog is by doing this and particularly stupid to play keep away at face level. If one has a friendly but hard mouthed dog with drive, an accident will eventually happen, even in the lowest degree it's gonna hurt if you get pinched in the face. I certainly would not mimic this "play" style and would not welcome guests doing that either.
A really beautiful dog though with great control. Maybe the human needs bite inhibition training and alternative focus work instead. : )
Snf
However, I also agree with Patrice, it's not really the smartest way to prove a point, and I'm not sure the dog is really getting the human's point.
LMAO @ "Maybe the human needs bite inhibition training and alternative focus work instead."
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Yep - shikoku talk
The first 2 replies pretty much sum up my thoughts. I wouldn't assume they play like this often though.
But Conker knows when I'm playing and when I'm not, and he makes all sorts of hellish growls while he plays with me.
Yoshi talks much more when we play; but never tries to 'correct' my behaviour, should I take a toy, or temporarily hide away a particularily noisy one...he defers. Interesting to note though; with my wife and the kids he keeps quiet, so he may realize the grumbles make certain people nervous, and he behaves accordingly.
I'm not sure I agree with the 'in your face' method of interaction demonstrated by the video; but it is clear the Shikoku knows who the 'person' is, and clarifies this with a kiss...after giving the appropriate 'correction'.
I play like that with Shoushuu but he is totally use to it and goes out full on with the mouthing, barks and body slamming. It's fun. I've been trying to get my Shikoku to growl but they won't. I use to play crazy with Lynx too but she gets way to into it and while she is using a "soft mouth" she still packs in a hard punch, I'll end up with red marks on my arms so I have to keep her "in check" with any rough-housing. She throws barks at me too but I also can't get her to growl.